So close!

Sleeves… check. Body…. check. Front to shoulders… check. Back? working on it!

(Sorry about the grey-on-grey – I didn’t pick the color of the blocking board, unfortunately!)

All I have left to knit on hubby’s sweater is the upper back! I’m
already about two inches into it. But, because of the sheer beastly size
of this sweater, progress has been slowed.

It’s just so hard to carry the darn thing around at this point that
I’ve actually been working on a couple of other, smaller projects as
well.

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Socks of Doom

When I received an invitation to a Ravelry group called Socks of Doom, I had a few mis-givings. Would this be a collection of hopelessly confused sock knitters, a support group for sufferers of Second Sock Syndrome or, maybe, yikes! knitters darning heels!

It turned out to be a sock knitting competition. I had no idea these sort of things existed. The idea is that two, paired up sock knitters race against each other to see who can knit a pair of socks first. Whoever loses – dies!! 🙂

Yes, there are rules. And, no, I absolutely could not resist. The first pattern assignment (I sound like a sock knitting version of Mission Impossible) is the Nutkin pattern by Beth LaPensee.

(photo from Ravelry pattern page)

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Swirling Leaves Baby Blanket

Spring is in the air!  We’re (not) enjoying a very wet cold spring here in Pacific Northwest but there is hopeful sunshine just around the bend.  And as much as we complain about the rain, we do love our green landscape.  And that’s the inspiration behind this week’s Freebie Friday pattern!

This cute baby blanket is the Swirling Leaves Baby Blanket by our own Kerin and her clever creativity is all over it.

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How to Sew on Care Labels

We’ve all been there. The anxious phone call from a friend or family member asking is there was any way to stretch out the lovely handknit or crocheted project “just a bit”. And after a few investigative questions to determine just exactly how much just a bit was and why the fit was off, the real reason reveals itself – the gift that was carefully made stitch by stitch was accidentally thrown into the wash or taken care of in a way that wasn’t good for the yarn. After having this happen on an occasion (or two), I knew that things would be different for my knitted gifts in the future after I saw these adorable care labels we have at Knit Picks!

These small care labels are perfect as that little reminder to the recipient as to how to wash your gift. We even made a video tutorial that shows exactly how to sew the labels onto your knitted or crocheted project in two different ways. The first way shown in the video lets you attach the label in a way that can be easily removed (if you want the recipient to know how to care for it, but be able to snip the tag off) and the second way in the video will show you how to firmly attach the label in place by using a simple backstitch.

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A new obsession – Spinning!

At the beginning of the new year, instead of setting resolutions for myself that I knew would be lost after a month or two – I instead tried to come up with a list of crafting goals for myself in 2012. And wouldn’t you know it, I have been slowly been tackling new projects and checking off my goals! One of the things I knew I really wanted to try this year was spinning. And aside from the fact that you get to make your own yarn, I just loved the zen-like calm that spinners have about them as they sit at their spinning wheel.

Combined with the fact that I had a wealth of information all around me since so many others here at the KP office know how to spin, I finally faced with the fact that it might be time to learn. I had a good chunk of Wool of the Andes Roving in Tidepool Heather that I started on with a drop spindle, and that is where my spinning adventure started!

L: Full Circle Roving, R: Full Circle and Wool of the Andes Roving

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Decisions, Decisions

I recently finished a new cardigan (and I should get pictures one of these days, it’s my favorite!) but now I want to make another one.  Maybe it’s been the cooler weather we’ve had out here this spring, but I’ve been grabbing one of my knitted cardigans every morning to throw on to go to work – and of course I need some new ones to add to my rotation, especially some lighter weight ones. So I’m debating between a couple I’ve had my eye on recently.

Jennifer Thompson‘s Star Gazing Cardigan has been on my list forever – I love the lace detail and the overlapping fronts.  It would be my first fingering weight cardigan. (eek!)

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Same great patterns, new format!

I’ve got an exciting announcement!
We’ve partnered with a small, US-based publisher to bring you our eBook collections in full-color, high-quality printed editions! You can find them in our New Books section.

Right now, the American Prairie and Uptown Chic collections are available in this format.

The quality of these books makes them perfect for pattern collectors, gifts, or just to have a physical, dog-ear-able, highlight-able, cross-out-your-rows version of these great titles. All of the patterns in these collections are now available in three formats: in a printed book of six patterns for $14.99, a downloadable PDF eBook for $9.99, or as individual pattern downloads for $4.99 each. Now, you can get these great pattern collections in the format you like best!
Look for more of our eBook titles in printed format in the future!

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Mary’s Summer Bag

I try to live green all year round (not just for Earth Day!).  Living in Portland OR makes it pretty easy – we have great public transportation & bike routes, recycling (and now composting) is a way of life, and most of our grocery stores & restaurants stock organic foods.  And the city of Portland recently banned plastic bags at major grocers and big-box stores.  So it’s not unusual to see folks carrying their own bags.

Our very own Kim designed this week’s Freebie Friday – the very cute Mary’s Summer Bag, perfect for bringing to the grocery store & farmers markets!

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Congratulations to our winners!

Thank you for all of your entries in our Custom Crochet Contest!  

I randomly chose our three winners:

Winner #1

Ginny!

Ginny’s comment: “That looks like a great book! I’ve been crocheting for years but I’ve never made a sweater.”

Winner #2

Sarah!

Sarah’s comment: “I’ve tried making a crochet sweater, once. It didn’t go so well. Maybe this is the book I need to encourage me to foray into the depths of sweater making again.:

Winner #3

Lisa!

Lisa’s comment: “Beautiful sweaters! I’ve never made a crocheted garment, but these sweaters are original and creative enough for me to give it a try.”

Congratulations!  I hope we’ll be seeing some beautiful crochet sweaters from this book!

 

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